


Wait a minute! I think I left my consciousness in the Sixth Dimension

by DistractionCake



Series: Lately, I ain't been in my feelings 💫 [6]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Is this crack?, SEASON 2 REIMAGINED
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-24 18:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22222171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DistractionCake/pseuds/DistractionCake
Summary: PREVIEW:"'Right,' Toni Topaz drawls, unimpressed. 'And I’ve been accepted into your boarding school. Sorry,magicboarding school,” she continues, her tone very much conveying just how much she doesn’t believe a word out of this woman’s mouth."SUMMARY:SEASON 2 REIMAGINED | Episode 2x16 → Harry Potter AU
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz
Series: Lately, I ain't been in my feelings 💫 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552237
Comments: 19
Kudos: 84





	Wait a minute! I think I left my consciousness in the Sixth Dimension

**Author's Note:**

> so, this was supposed to be one thing and then it turned into another thing completely and all i know is i had so much fun writing it lmao i tried my best to capture ~the spirit~ of 2x16, so i hope you guys enjoy it! fair warning: this is _my_ take on an HP AU 😬

* * *

“A wizard?” 

“Witch, in your case.”

“Right,” Toni Topaz drawls, unimpressed. “And I’ve been accepted into your boarding school. Sorry, _magic_ boarding school,” she continues, her tone very much conveying just how much she doesn’t believe a word out of this woman’s mouth.

And to be honest, Toni’s not trying to be rude – but _come on,_ man. She’s heard more convincing stories from Kurtz, the weirdo kid in her trailer park who’s obsessed with that stupid role-playing game. Goblins & Ghouls? Whatever. 

“Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” the woman sitting across from her fills in, apparently unbothered by both Toni’s incredulous tone and also the fact that Toni’s summarizing her presentation like it’s a conclusion she’s writing for one of Mr. Honey’s stupid essays. Trying to hit a dumb word count so that the asshole doesn’t deduct points, since he actually fucking counts. 

_The school of magic. The magic school. The magic school you have told me is about magic._

Toni wonders if this is what a stroke feels like.

“Right,” she says as she shifts in her seat. The stupid chairs in Principal Weatherbee’s office are so ancient and uncomfortable, Toni doesn’t understand why they couldn’t just talk anywhere else. Like, the girls bathroom on the second floor for instance. Even those are more comfortable than this – and two of them don’t even have toilet seats. Alas, Toni imagines having a fancy boarding school’s – sorry, _magic_ boarding school’s – representative come to talk to one of your students means they get the main office to themselves. 

For, you know, _optics._

Toni’s sure that this lady would probably not be too impressed by the fact that the window in that bathroom is completely missing so there’s a giant hole in the wall instead. Toni sometimes thinks about jumping out that hole. Not like, in a suicidal way. But rather to escape the awfulness that is Southside High. Toni’s sure she could land without hurting herself. That dumbass Malachai jumped from the third floor that one time the cops raided last year and he was perfectly fine. Only a broken collarbone, but that’s because he’s a moron. Toni knows she’s much smarter than him. 

Anyway. 

“So,” Toni continues. “You’re here now because apparently my acceptance letter,” she says as she gestures to said letter which is now in her hands – its fancy cursive address to _Miss Antoinette Topaz_ making her itch – “didn’t arrive when it was supposed to. When I was 11. Which was five years ago.” 

“Your letter was purposefully stopped from reaching you, yes.”

“Purposefully?” Toni asks with a raised eyebrow. That wasn’t a detail she had mentioned before.

“The exact circumstances are unclear to us, but regardless, we are here now. Hoping to make up for lost time,” the woman explains. 

“Right,” Toni says with a sigh. “Look, Mrs–” and then she stops. Blanks on the woman’s name and damn that’s embarrassing. They’ve been here for half an hour and Toni didn’t bother to catch her name.

“Professor McCoy. Sierra McCoy,” the woman answers, an amused smirk now on her face.

“Sorry. _Professor McCoy._ I appreciate you coming all the way here to talk to me about this, but even if this isn’t some elaborate prank, there’s no way I could afford a fancy private _magic_ boarding school. So, thank you but uh, I’m good.” 

And almost as if she had timed it, the bell rings. 

Toni stands, absentmindedly placing the letter in the inside pocket of her serpent jacket.

Lunch time. 

She’s looking forward to today’s meat surprise. The lunch lady always puts a little umbrella on hers, like it’s a fucking piña colada, and Toni honestly lives for it. 

“Given the circumstances, we at Hogwarts are offering you a full scholarship,” the woman says, not bothering to stand yet. It makes Toni feel like an asshole. Isn’t the polite thing to do for her to stand too so that they can shake hands or whatever? 

“Right. Well, like I said. Thanks, but no thanks.”

Toni turns then, heading for the door, just as the woman speaks up again.

“Haven’t you ever felt it?” 

“Felt what?” Toni asks with a sigh as she turns to face her once more. 

“That you’re more than this.”

Toni opens her mouth to respond, hoping either a polite answer or a witty comeback comes to mind. Instead she just opens and closes her mouth like she’s a fish just _glub glub glubbing_ away. 

She’d settle for an angry retort at this point if it made her stop looking so stupid.

Because honestly? _Fuck._

That hurts.

Toni knows that she’s more than this place, more than these people, more than these circumstances. But fuck it if the circumstances haven’t sucked all of her ambitions right out of her.

Her mom’s dead, her father’s in prison, and all she has is her grandfather who has steadily gotten sicker this year and who Toni knows might drop dead any minute now and if she thinks about it for a second longer she knows she’ll start to fucking cry and she is not about to cry in front of a woman that works for a place as stupid-sounding as a magic boarding school. 

“You don’t know me,” is what she finally settles on. 

And she hopes her voice sounds steadier than her heart feels.

To her surprise though, the woman’s eyes soften as she finally stands.

“I know that all of what I’m saying is hard to believe. I know that it’ll take some time for you to come to terms with it. However, classes started a week ago and you’re already years behind your peers.”

“What do you want from me?” Toni asks with a sigh, just hoping for this conversation to end already.

“Come to Hogwarts.”

“Not happening.”

“Then let me convince you that what I’m saying is true.”

“If you pull a pigeon out of your ass I’m calling animal control.”

" _Alarte Ascendare,_ " the woman says instead, ignoring Toni’s rude jab.

“Sorry?”

“You don’t have a wand yet,” the woman continues, slowly explaining things and clearly not caring about Toni’s attitude. “It’ll take you a bit more concentration than usual because of it, but I want you to focus on an object – preferably something small – and repeat those words. _Alarte Ascendare._ "

“Please tell me that’s the one for lighting things on fire,” Toni says with a smirk. The conversation turning back to the absurd topic that started it all: _magic._

“No, it is not. The object in question, however, should then be launched into the air briefly. So, like I said. Start small.”

“Right. Well, thanks again for the offer but uh, I’m sorry you wasted your time.”

When the woman says nothing else, Toni gives her a mock salute and fina– _fucking–_ lly heads out and over to the cafeteria.

She really, really hopes that the umbrella mystery meat is chicken.

* * *

Fucking meatloaf.

* * *

The rest of the day goes by pretty quick and it’s altogether unremarkable. 

So, the usual.

Toni stops by the bathroom on the second floor right after the bell rings, once she realizes that _no,_ her bladder will not hold for the walk home.

She’s washing her hands a minute later when those stupid Pretty Poisons walk in. Toni sighs as their leader, a girl named Peaches ‘N Cream, gives her a smarmy smile.

“Ladies, look who we have here. Toni ' _Too Good For Us_ ' Topaz. Tell me Topaz, how’s life?” the girl asks as she sidles up beside the sink Toni is at. The other two girls stay guarding the door.

It’s times like this that Toni wishes that the serpent on her jacket was on it for more than just decoration. That she wishes it maybe signified some sort of gang of her own. Alas, the jacket is only an old one that used to belong to her mother that she only wears when her grandfather isn’t looking, since the old man always tells her to take it off. 

It’s genuinely the only thing he ever chastises Toni about. 

It’s weird. 

Anyway.

“It’s fine,” Toni answers as she turns to look at the girl. “Disappointed we didn’t get chicken today.”

“You know what? _Same,_ " the girl exaggeratedly commiserates. “Although,” the girl then continues, “We did hear something very interesting today. Didn’t we girls?” Peaches asks of her minions. The other two girls snicker. 

“What’d you hear?” Toni asks, hoping that if she plays along this will be over quick.

“We heard that some fancy pants lady came by. Specifically to talk to _you._ Apparently about some scholarship?” 

Toni sighs.

_Of course they did,_ Toni can’t help but think. Weatherbee is such a fucking gossip.

“It was some lame recruitment thing. Not worth it,” Toni tries to shrug off. 

“Really?” Peaches incredulously asks. “And here I thought you’d be into it. Seeing as you think you’re so above us all. Too good for the Poisons, too good for this school, _hell_ too good for the whole Southside. Isn’t that what you think of us, Topaz?” 

Toni watches as the other two girls take a step closer, smirks on their faces. She takes a deep breath then and weighs her options.

She could either:  
  
(A) Stay and fight all three girls all on her own  
OR  
(B) Jump out the hole in the wall

After careful consideration, Toni knows there really is only one answer.

And well, she’d really rather break Peaches’s nose than break her own ankles. 

Just another day in the Southside.

* * *

Bruised knuckles, a black eye, and a split lip – Toni takes stock of her injuries as she walks home. All in all, not too bad. Her ribs hurt too, but Toni’s willing to pretend that isn’t an issue given the fact that the kicks she took were super weak and it was really that the boots are solid as fuck.

No wonder the girls soccer team sucks. 

And well, honestly, she’s thankful that it was that weirdo Evelyn girl who walked in on the commotion. Everyone in school knows she’s in a cult and looking to recruit, so Peaches and her girls ran out of there quick. 

Toni honestly thinks that the girl’s not that bad. She always brings pizza for her little cult meetups and lets Toni steal a few slices so as long as she signs the attendance sheet. Apparently she needs to meet some sort of membership quota in order to reach her heaven or something. 

Anyway. 

As she walks up to her trailer, Toni starts to feel really kind of hot in her jacket. Like, a burning sensation. 

“What the fuck?!” she yells as she realizes that, _yep,_ there’s smoke coming out of her jacket. “Fucking hell,” she says as she hurriedly pulls it off and throws it on the ground.

Toni watches as a little cloud of smoke comes out of one of her inside pockets.

She reaches for the jacket then as she realizes that it’s the same pocket she placed her Hogwarts acceptance letter in. Maybe she left her zippo lighter in that same one?

A quick check tells her that, _no,_ her lighter is in the other pocket but also – the letter is now dust. Ash. Burned completely.

Toni is at a loss for what to even think.

This whole thing has to be a prank right? Was that letter rigged to self-destruct somehow? She’s almost sure that if she turns around there will be some sort of camera crew waiting to jump out at her.

_Gotcha!_ And Toni will hopefully get paid for letting them use the footage.

Toni glances around, preparing her _Oh my god, you guys!!_ face but nope. The trailer park is deserted. Not an obnoxious television host in sight. Only one around is that crackhead Chic who’s always standing by the entrance, so he doesn’t count. 

Toni sighs.

Spontaneous combustion maybe? 

That’s a real thing right?

Maybe she got hit harder than she thought.

* * *

After successfully leaving her jacket to cool off in her room, her grandfather none the wiser as Toni heard the snores coming from his room, she ducked out and headed for the local bar, the Whyte Wyrm, to start her shift.

It’s a pretty typical night and no one so much as bats an eye at her beat up face. 

It’s around midnight when Toni finds herself suitably bored at the bar. 

She glances around and sees that asshole Tall Boy at the pool table. He’s lining up his next shot when an idea strikes Toni’s mind.

" _Alarte Ascendare,_ " she quietly whispers to herself – suddenly very glad she was paying attention to Professor McCoy towards the end of her sales pitch.

Toni still doesn’t believe this is a thing, but _hell._ She’s bored, injured, and if she can get the pool cue to smash Tall Boy in the face, Toni would call that a success.

If not, well, at least it was worth a try.

Toni concentrates hard on the cue in the older man’s hand. Watches as he himself slowly takes his time to strike. She times it just right as he pulls his hand back, ready to hit the cue ball with force and Toni whispers the words under her breath. 

" _Alarte Ascendare._ " 

It happens in a flash.

Tall Boy seemingly loses control of the pool cue and it shoots up into the air, smashing against the roof of the bar, before clattering down on top of the pool table. 

“What the fuck?!” he yells.

And Toni’s jaw drops.

That.

That just–

Nah, he probably had his hands wet from his beer or something.

Right?

Right?

“Byrdie, I’m– I’m taking a smoke break,” she tells the bar owner who’s sitting at the counter, as she quickly ducks into the back and heads for the back door.

“5 minutes, Pinky!” she hears the older woman shout at her as the door shuts behind her.

Toni stands there in the little dank alley and pulls out a cigarette and her lighter.

She takes a drag, before she lets herself wonder.

_Magic._

“Fuck’s sake, Topaz. Get it together. That shit’s just not real,” she murmurs to herself.

She finishes her cigarette before she decides...maybe one more time. Just to be sure, you know?

She focuses on the large dumpster back there. Focuses on it hard before she says the words aloud. 

" _Alarte Ascendare._ " 

The dumpster sort of shakes in place – as if too heavy to go. Toni furrows her brows and tries it again. The dumpster shakes once more, this time with more force. Frustrated, Toni tries it one more time, shouting the words now.

" _Alarte Ascendare!_ "

And it flies.

Not high, mind you, probably about a foot in the air – but still.

“Holy shit. Holy shit,” Toni repeats to herself just as the back door slams open and Byrdie is shouting at her to get her ass back inside.

* * *

The last two hours of her shift are a blur. Toni spends the majority of them just in a daze over what had happened. Alternating between, _holy shit magic_ and _fuck me maybe those cigarettes were laced with something???_

By the time she’s walking back home she’s not really sure what to think about it all. 

Hell, she’s still lowkey out of it as she steps inside the trailer – only suddenly coming to as she stares at the half-empty bottle of cranberry juice in her hand as she’s standing in front of the fridge. The bottle proclaims it to be CAROL CRANBERRY but like, Toni was sure this brand was called CAROL **E** CRANBERRY so is this some Berenst **a** in Bears/Berenst **e** in Bears shit?

Her world really has been turned upside down.

“Toni,” her grandfather’s firm voice suddenly cuts through from his place on the couch. 

She turns and catches the slightly worried look on his face.

Shit.

He must have been calling her name the whole time and she didn’t hear him. 

Toni decides then and there to maybe put a pin on this whole freakout about magic so as not to worry her grandfather anymore.

“Sorry, Grandpa,” she apologizes.

“You okay?” he asks and it’s clear that he must think that Toni’s bruises plus lack of hearing are a result of getting curb stomped or something. 

“Yeah, no, yeah. I’m fine.”

“What happened?”

“Just Peaches and her stupid girl gang,” Toni answers with a sigh as she takes the alternate universe cranberry and walks back over to sit on the sofa across from him. 

“Did you hit back?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I hit first,” Toni answers, lifting her hand to show him her bruised knuckles.

He chuckles softly, a laugh that Toni knows means that he’s proud of her, which causes her to smile widely.

The two sit in silence then, as Toni watches her grandfather flick through the channels. It’s mostly infomercials at this time of night, so it’s clear he’s trying his best to find a channel that’s playing a movie or something. Maybe a M*A*S*H rerun. 

Anyway.

It’s a few minutes later when Toni’s mind goes back to the whole magic thing, because well. Fuck it. She can’t _not_ think about it right?

That wholeass dumpster was in the air!!!

She decides to maybe find a way to broach the subject with her grandfather then. He’s always been a very spiritual man, so maybe this isn’t even magic but like...a spirit thing.

Which is, _obviously,_ a completely different thing.

How exactly, Toni can’t quite articulate, but like, it’s almost 3 in the morning so fucking sue her.

“A woman came by the school to speak to me today,” Toni decides to open with. That’s chill right?

“Social worker?” 

“No, uh. Recruiter for another school. Or she was a teacher maybe? She had a weird title.”

“What was the title?”

“Head of House,” Toni answers. “It’s weird right?” 

When her grandfather says nothing in response, Toni sighs in defeat. Maybe it’s really all just in her head. It _is_ almost 3 in the morning. 

She glances back over to the television then, hoping for a distraction. The infomercial playing has a guy on screen selling a blender. And man, he is way too excited about this blender. Like, jumping around in excitement over this blender. Dude, it’s a _blender._ Apparently though, it has 12 different speed settings. Their blender only has 3 and that’s 2 more than needed as far as Toni’s concerned. You just put that bitch in max and _go go go_. Who the fuck even needs 12 different speed settings?

“Who the fuck even needs 12 different speed settings?”

When no answer comes Toni glances back at her grandfather and suddenly realizes – he’s stopped changing the channels. 

“Grandpa?”

The man releases a breath then, sort of coming back to himself, as he glances over to Toni. A weird look in his eyes.

“Are you feeling okay?” Toni worriedly asks him. 

“What was her name?”

“What?”

“The woman that came to the school. What was her name?”

“McCoy. Sierra McCoy. Why?” Toni answers, scrunching her face.

“Head of Slytherin,” he says to himself as he nods.

“What?”

“Did she give you a letter?” 

“Yeah, she did.”

“Where is it?”

“It– uh, well it, you see… it caught on fire,” Toni begins to explain. “On its own. Which, like, _weird_ right? She was saying all this stuff about the school she works for being some sort of _magic_ boarding school, which is just next level stupid. But to be honest? Some weirdass shit has gone down tonight so I don’t know if it’s just me or what, but I’m kinda maybe starting to believe her? I don’t know, maybe. Or maybe I’m just losing my mind here but–”

“Toni,” her grandfather’s firm voice cuts through her rambling again. “Where?”

“What?”

“Where did it catch fire?”

“I mean, I had it in my jacket pocket and as soon as I got within like ten feet of the trailer it just,” Toni pauses then and gestures small explosion with her hands, “Poof.”

Her grandfather nods pensively at that.

A beat passes with the old man clearly lost in thought.

“Grandpa–”

“I need you to know,” he says, cutting her off. “I need you to know that everything I have ever done has been to protect you.”

The tone in his voice is serious and Toni knows – she _knows,_ that he means it with every bone in his body.

“I know,” she answers back softly. “And I love you for it.”

The old man smiles softly at her before continuing, “There’s something you need to know.”

A beat passes.

“You’re a wizard, Toni.”

* * *

“Well, a witch.”

* * *

As the sun rises the next morning, all Toni can think about is that she should have brought a blanket. Because _fuck,_ it’s cold. The sun’s rays are only just now starting to peek through the sky as Toni impatiently sits atop her trailer. Literally on the roof, keeping her eye on the horizon waiting for –

And there it is.

It just looks a bit like a black smudge in the distance, but as it approaches, its body starts to define itself.

It’s an owl.

Just like her grandfather had said it would be.

Toni watches as it makes its descend and lands right next to her. Her grandfather having taken down the magic wards around their trailer, which meant they no longer prevented the magic creatures – or any magic in general – from reaching her. 

Toni slowly reaches for the letter in its beak. Sees the fancy cursive address to _Miss Antoinette Topaz_ and sighs. 

“Guess that’s that, huh?” she asks and the owl simply blinks at her. “Uh, am I meant to like give you a tip? I don’t have any cash– _oh_ you’re flying away now.”

Toni sighs again as she glances over at the letter again.

“Magic boarding school. Fuck me.”

* * *

According to her grandfather, it had been his failing health that had weakened both the wards around the trailer park and the masking spell placed on her. The wards had shrunk to merely protect the trailer itself, which is what caused her first letter to burn, and the masking spell itself had all but vanished.

There was nothing more to be done. 

After 13 years of being successfully hidden in plain sight, the Wizarding World could now find one Antoinette Topaz the minute she stepped out her front door.

And find her they did – even if it meant coming all the way into the muggle world. 

**Muggle** = a person who lacks any sort of magical ability

Vocab points. 

Anyway. 

In the week since, as Toni and her grandfather packed up their lives essentially, Thomas Topaz Sr. has been giving her a crash course on Wizarding World History.

Toni’s done her best to retain as much information as possible. 

Here’s what she’s got so far:

There was this Evil Wizard, right. You’re not really supposed to say his name, since people still feel some type of way about it, but basically it sounds like the villain from Star Wars. He was on his typical bad guy take over the world bullshit and he was eventually defeated by the good guys _yadda yadda yadda._

Here’s what Toni really cares to remember, if she’s honest:

The Topaz family had magic. 

A long history of it too, being able to trace them back generations. Her father, Thomas Topaz Jr. or TJ as he was called, had been accepted to Hogwarts way back when. Had been sorted into House Slytherin, as had almost every single Topaz before him. 

**Houses** = dorm assignments based on personality traits

Apparently a magical hat does the sorting for you, but Toni can’t help but picture herself taking an online quiz about what kind of bread she is and having _that_ be the determining factor.

Rye?  
Sourdough?   
Wheat?  
Multi-grain? 

Anyway. 

After graduating Hogwarts, her father returned to the world of muggles, which he – like her grandfather – had always had a fondness and affinity for. He met her mother, Deborah. A muggle woman with absolutely no magical powers. They fell in love and had Toni.

And then Evil Wizard showed up again. Started WWW2 (Wizarding World War 2) and brought with him his very own cult following called Death Eaters which left the fate of both worlds in the balance. 

And her father, well, he stepped up.

Gathered his friends that he had graduated Hogwarts with – his fellow Slytherin brothers and sisters – and led a rebellion. A contingent of witches and wizards that would stop at nothing until the bad guys were defeated.

A group he called the Serpents. 

And together, they knew that they would do whatever it took to stop Evil Wizard.

Even if that meant learning the Dark Arts themselves. 

Because her father truly believed that to win, you had to be willing to get your hands dirty. That you had to do whatever was necessary. That there were no excuses when it came to the greater good – to saving the world. You had to fight fire with fire.

And so they did. 

Dark Magic and all. 

However, as it happens, one of the Serpents had turned out to be more rat than snake.

A woman named Penny Peabody who was secretly eager to join the ranks of the Death Eaters and who decided that betraying the Serpents would help her prove herself to them. So, she went to where Toni’s mother was being kept hidden on her father’s orders – where no wizards without prior knowledge of her location could find her. 

How?

Because of the Serpent jacket her father had given her – more than a symbolic or romantic gesture, he had cast a disguising spell on that jacket for her protection. 

And so Penny Peabody showed up and her mother – having no knowledge of magic and implicitly trusting a fellow Serpent – let her cast a new spell on it. She had said it was a reinforcement to TJ’s protections.

It was not.

It was a Revelio Charm.

Revealing her mother to the world – and with that, to the Death Eaters looking for her.

Deborah Topaz died later that day.

And her father, consumed by grief and rage, stopped at nothing to get justice for her.

_Nothing._

And well...he did. 

And the price he’s paid for it has been a stay at Azkaban Prison ever since. 

Toni was three years old – having survived because she had been separated from her mother. Taken and hidden away by her grandfather in the little sleepy town of Riverdale.

And while she may not remember her parents, not really, learning the truth about it all fills a void in her heart that she had tried to ignore for so long.

“That’s why you have issues with me wearing the jacket,” Toni says to her grandfather on their drive to the airport.

“It was.”

" _Was?_ "

“There’s no point now. You’re going to Hogwarts.”

“Will people be weird about it? The jacket, I mean.”

“Fuck ‘em. Your legacy is that of a Serpent – and whether they want to accept it or not – the Serpents were heroes. You wear that jacket with pride.”

Toni smiles. 

“I always do.”

* * *

Toni’s first thought upon arriving at Diagon Alley to purchase her school supplies is that –

“Wizarding School is bougie as fuck.” 

Her grandfather grunts in agreement.

* * *

Robes, hat, gloves, cloak, books, and a cauldron later, Toni stands at some Bird Emporium getting herself her very own owl. 

She chooses a screech owl since it’s the most badass looking one there and names it Tony with a Y because fuck it, it’s funny. It’s also apparently one of the more expensive owls there, costing a total of 15 galleons. Toni really isn’t up to date with the Wizarding World’s foreign exchange rate so she’s not sure how much that is in real money, but anyway, she’s not paying for it – Hogwarts is, so suck it.

Last but not least on their shopping trip is purchasing a wand. 

Apparently, there’s this whole thing about _the wand choosing the wizard_ and it’s all very, well, _magical._

Toni tries a couple out, causing all sorts of sparks to shoot in random directions – like it’s the fucking 4th of July and she’s lighting the fireworks wrong and almost losing a hand. Eventually though, Wandmaker Dude hands her one that feels...right.

Beechwood, 10”, with a Horned Serpent horn core.

As they walk out of the shop, her grandfather shows Toni his own wand, which he had kept hidden until this very moment.

“It’s larchwood, 14”. Horned Serpent horn core,” he informs Toni in this gruff voice.

Toni looks up at him in surprise and the two share a soft smile at the coincidence.

“Cool.”

* * *

If you had asked Toni how difficult it would be to part from her grandfather on a scale of 1-10, Toni would have been honest and said an 11. As she’s standing in the middle of this train station being told to run through a stupid wall, she’s pretty sure it's 111.

“Where uh, where will you go now?” she asks him as she swallows the lump in her throat. Her grandfather had packed almost everything of value into his bags, leaving behind almost nothing at the trailer. Toni hadn’t said anything at the time, but based on his actions, she had a hunch the old man had no intention of going back there. At least, not anytime soon.

“I’ve got a few things I’ve been putting off for a decade or two,” he answers with a deep sigh. “I think it’s time.”

“And Sunnyside?” 

“The Southside will always be home, Toni.”

Toni nods again as she wipes at her eyes, trying to stop the stray tears.

“I’m uh, going to miss you, you know?” she says, her voice cracking.

“If I don’t see you during Christmas, then I’ll see you next summer. I’m not going anywhere, kiddo. Not just yet.”

Toni doesn’t hesitate to crash into him, feeling his large arms wrap around her.

For better or for worse, he is the only one Toni has ever had.

And _fuck,_ Toni really loves her old man.

* * *

Running through the stupid wall is actually pretty cool, all things considered. 

* * *

A truck, a plane, and a train – all it’s taken for Toni to make her way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Toni feels a bit like a fucking Doctor Seuss character if she’s honest, especially since she was offered something that looked suspiciously like green eggs and ham by the Trolley Lady.

Anyway.

Upon arriving, she quickly spots Professor McCoy waiting for her by an honest-to-god carriage. 

“Oh, she’s a beaut,” Toni comments in awe as she slowly approaches the winged horse that pulls at the carriage. If there’s one thing Toni is _definitely_ looking forward to, it’s all the weird creatures in this world. She was always a huge Discovery Channel fan growing up. Hell, whenever she went around Fox Forest back home taking pictures, she would always dream of them being on the cover of National Geographic. 

Her pictures of stray cats probably wouldn’t have ever made the cut, but Little Toni used to dream big once upon a time.

The creature lets Toni pet her slightly which causes Toni to smile. She turns back to Professor McCoy then and catches an odd look on the woman’s face.

“What?” Toni asks, self-consciously.

Maybe she wasn’t meant to pet the winged horses?

“It’s really nothing,” the woman answers. “Shall we?”

* * *

So, Hogwarts is a lot.

Like, _a lot_ a lot.

Toni’s brief impression of things:

  * The paintings on the walls can talk. Usually this would be in the pros column, because _dope,_ but Toni could hear those assholes gossiping about her the entire walk to the Headmistress’s Office. 
  * There are ghosts running around, which is legitimately cool in her book.
  * The giant staircase moves and Toni lowkey gets motion sickness from it.
  * The Great Hall lives up to its name like _holy hell._ Those long tables and the millions of floating candles and the ceiling looking like it’s the sky???? Woah. If there were any doubts left about magic being real, Toni loses them the second she catches sight of that room. Wow.
  * All of the students are wearing their robes and it feels lowkey culty. Toni is suddenly even more impressed with Evelyn’s nuCult fashion. 
  * The Sorting Hat talks. Like, _talks_. For some reason, Toni wasn’t expecting that.



“Hmmm. You would do well in Hufflepuff,” it mumbles as it lays atop Toni’s head.

Toni frowns at that. Hufflepuff is not what she came for.

“Hufflepuff is not what I came for.”

“And yet. You value hard work. You value dedication and loyalty. Patience and fair play. Do you not?”

“I do, but–”

“You are True. You are Just. Hufflepuff would suit you well –”

“Slytherin,” Toni says, cutting it off. 

“Slytherin? Where those cunning, resourceful, and full of ambition go?”

Toni thinks back to Professor McCoy’s words back at Southside High.

_Haven’t you ever felt it?_

_Felt what?_

_That you’re more than this._

And well, Toni finally has an answer.

“I want more. I am more. More than what you think of me.”

“Serpent,” the Hat then says, taking Toni by surprise. “A true Topaz. Slytherin it is!” the Hat declares, which honestly causes Toni to sigh in relief.

Slytherin.

She did it.

And the spark of ambition she feels inside of herself? Almost feels like she’s Little Toni again, full of big dreams.

Also, she honestly thinks the bread quiz would have probably been faster.

Anyway.

“Congratulations,” the Hufflepuff Head of House says to her after it’s all said and done.

Toni smiles at him, “Thank you.”

She had been introduced to all of the Heads of House and the Headmistress all at once, and to be honest, he had been the most welcoming. If things were different, Toni honestly wouldn’t have minded being under the tutelage of Professor Andrews. 

“No hard feelings?” she continues.

“None whatsoever,” he answers with a fatherly smile.

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” Professor Chipping, Head of Ravenclaw, tells her.

“You’re in good hands,” Professor Keller, Head of Gryffindor says, which Toni has to admit is kinda sweet, seeing as his wife is the Head of Slytherin.

Professor McCoy merely gives her a smirk in return, probably feeling like Toni proved her right.

And well, Toni’s not that mad about it.

“I trust that your stay here at Hogwarts will be one of bountiful learning. It won’t be easy to catch up to your peers, but if you put in the work, I know you will undoubtedly succeed,” Headmistress Burble says then.

Toni smiles at her, ready for the challenge. 

Ready to make her family name proud.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

* * *

Okay, so it turns out, magic is fucking _hard_.

Why did no one warn her? Christ. 

In the two weeks she’s been here, Toni has managed to get some things right off the bat, but others…not so much.

Case in point: Transfiguration Class

Toni groans in frustration as she yet again fucks up her spells. Her attempt at making a teacup turn into a toad actually causing the teacup to turn into, well, Toad.

The Mario character. 

Anyway.

Being that she’s technically in both her first year and her sixth year, her class schedule is all over the place. A mix of classes with little kids and then some that the Headmistress felt she could take with her peers, so as not to stunt her socializing skills or something like that.

Basically, Headmistress Burble wants to make sure Toni doesn’t end up a loser, which she appreciates. 

Professor Chipping gives her a sympathetic smile just as class is over.

“Next time, Miss Topaz,” he says.

Toni fucking hopes so, because she really can’t stand all these 10 year olds laughing at her.

* * *

“How’d it go?” Fangs asks her as she reaches him and Sweet Pea. The two of them waiting for her so that they can walk to their Care of Magical Creatures class together. Toni really appreciates it – seeing as she’s gotten lost about a dozen times already. 

It’s a fucking medieval castle with staircases that change position, okay? Fucking sue her. Plus, anytime she’s asked the paintings for help, they always send her in the wrong direction. Toni knew they were assholes.

Anyway.

Toni is thankful she didn’t let Professor McCoy take her to the hospital wing that first day, seeing as her fading bruises turned out to be the ticket to making friends with one Francisco “Fangs” Fogarty and one Percival “Sweet Pea” Stone. 

Upon arriving, at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall after getting sorted, Sweet Pea had asked her about the black eye which then turned into a conversation about whether she was a metamorphmagus, because of her pink hair, which led to Toni explaining the concept of hair dye to Sweet Pea, since he had barely any understanding of the muggle world having two magical parents. Fangs on the other hand had two muggle parents, which helped a lot since he actually knew how to fucking explain things to her in English.

Oh, right:

**Metamorphmagus** = a witch or wizard with the rare ability to change their physical appearance at will 

Vocab points.

“Still sucking,” Toni tells them with a sarcastic smile.

Sweet Pea snorts.

“You’ll get it soon,” Fangs comforts her as they begin their walk.

So, yeah. Toni has a whole two friends here, which is a step up from her total number of zero back at Southside High. And bonus? No stupid girl gang trying to beat her up every other period. Although, she will admit, putting her own little piña colada umbrella on her food doesn’t hold the same kind of magic as the lunch lady doing it.

* * *

However, there is one thing that Hogwarts 100% has over the Southside:

Cheryl Blossom.

* * *

Cheryl Blossom.

Introduced to her as the Slytherin Prefect, Cheryl Blossom was to give her the grand tour of the Slytherin Dungeon, which, _sick_ name by the way. Also, the Slytherin dorms look into the lake, which makes the whole thing feel like it’s underwater. Toni is almost sure she saw a mermaid swim by, which, fucking cool.

Basically, Toni was impressed – shit was badass. 

Anyway.

Back to Cheryl Blossom.

Toni has to admit she was a goner from Day #1. 

If she were a cartoon character, she’s sure her heart eyes would have popped out of her head – along with a very loud _AWOOGA_.

Which is all to say, the girl is hot as fuck.

Apparently, she’s a total bitch too, but to be honest, Toni barely paid any attention to her two minute tour and then the girl had ditched her, so. Another roommate, a girl named Veronica, had ended up being the one to show her around. Which was nice. 

Regardless, Toni hasn’t been able to stop herself from crushing hard on the redhead and because of that, well–

“Are you sure about this?” Fangs asks her as they’re on their way to the Quidditch pitch.

“Absolutely. I told you, Professor Clayton said I was a natural.”

“As long as you’re actually in this to win and not just joining the team because you want to get into Blossom’s pants– ” Sweet Pea starts to complain before Toni cuts him off.

“Okay, first of all, I can multitask,” Toni begins her defense, which causes the boy to groan. “Second, you need me, okay? Your Seeker quit and your next game – against our biggest rivals, mind you – is in two days. Has anyone else stepped up to the plate? Hm?”

“Fucking Cooper,” Sweet Pea mumbles clearly annoyed with their old Seeker. 

“All I’m saying is, give me a chance.”

* * *

“Absolutely not.”

“Cheryl–” Toni starts to say, before she’s cut off once more by the Team Captain. Because of course, Cheryl Blossom is Team Captain.

“I said no. We may be desperate, but we are not _that_ desperate,” she scoffs as she gestures to Toni. “She’s been flying for all of what? Two days? And you just want to hand over the Seeker position to her?”

“To be fair, no one else has volunteered,” Val drawls which causes Cheryl to glare at her. The two Chasers stare at each other for a beat, before Val breaks eye contact. “Look,” the girl continues with a sigh, “All I’m saying is I don’t want to forfeit our match against Gryffindor. And right now, it’s her or nobody, so what do we have to lose?”

“All those in favor of letting Toni join?” Joaquin the third Chaser on the team asks.

“Aye,” Val, Joaquin, their keeper Reggie, and Fangs and Sweet Pea – the Beaters – all say in unison.

“Fine,” Cheryl says through gritted teeth. “But we’re not leaving this pitch today until I’m sure you can last an entire match without falling off your broom and plunging to your death.” 

“I wouldn’t actually hit the ground right?” Toni asks playfully. “Like, someone would, you know,” Toni says doing some sort of spirit fingers-like gesture, “Magic me and stop me, right?”

“Guys?”

“Right?”

“Guys?”

* * *

Sweet Pea does thankfully catch her.

But like, with his actual hands. What’s the point of having magic then? Fucking hell.

* * *

Turns out what Cheryl Blossom says, Cheryl Blossom means. They return back to their dorm six hours later and Toni is genuinely sore as fuck. Flying around on a broom trying to catch a flying golden sphere the size of a walnut is hard as fuck. Still, Toni doesn’t regret it. Especially since at the end of it all, Cheryl gave her a nod.

A _nod_. 

Toni knows progress when she sees it.

* * *

The next day there’s more practice, but this time it’s (!) just (!) Cheryl (!) and (!) Toni (!).

Cheryl has her run even more drills and honestly? Toni swears she falls a little bit more in love with her the louder she yells at her.

Maybe Toni should really get her kinks under control.

Anyway.

“Shouldn’t I, you know, rest? Before the big match tomorrow and all of that,” Toni comments, still sore, after finishing the latest drill.

Cheryl merely glares at her, “Again.”

Toni does the drill again, which is basically flying around the pitch as fast as possible while holding on to her broom with only one hand. Practice, you know, for when she’s got to reach for the Golden Snitch.

As soon as she reaches Cheryl again, the girl checks her old-timey pocket watch.

Sidenote: Technology here is so weird. Has no one ever heard of digital?

Anyway. 

“Better,” Cheryl murmurs.

“Yeah?” Toni answers as she playfully hovers in her broom right above her. “Told you I had it–” Toni begins to boast, but the second she releases both hands from her broom, she slips.

She manages to catch herself before hitting the ground, but now she’s hanging from her broom upside down.

Sloth-style.

Her face is now also painfully close to Cheryl’s, who locks eyes with her.

A beat passes, and suddenly Toni hits the ground – broom and all.

So much for having it.

“Again,” Cheryl authoritatively barks are her, but Toni sees that rosiness in her cheeks. Unlike Toni’s flushed face, it has nothing to do with the blood rushing to her head because she was upside down.

Toni considers that a victory.

* * *

When she falls asleep that night, Toni dreams she’s Spider-Man. From like, the Tobey Maguire trilogy. Hanging upside down on her broom in the rain – ready to Spider-Man kiss her very own Mary Jane. 

They’re both redheads so it works.

* * *

Match Day is about as chill as you can imagine.

Which is to say, Not Fucking Chill At All. The entire school seems to be at the pitch screaming their allegiance to one of the two teams playing and Toni is genuinely terrified.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” she says.

“If you’re going to do it, do it before we head out,” Reggie says. “Puking on the pitch is not a good look, trust me.”

When the rest of the team nods in agreement, Toni decides to duck into the bathroom real quick.

“Alright team!” Cheryl calls out a few minutes later. “This is do or die. We are not about to lose our first match of the season to _Gryffindor_. So get your shit together and let’s do this. Slytherin on three!”

“One, Two, Three!”

“Slytherin!”

As soon as the voice of Dilton Doiley, the Hufflepuff kid who announces the matches, is heard the team lines up to take flight. 

And well, Toni’s got a good feeling about it – especially since she already puked her guts out.

They got this.

They got this.

* * *

So that was a fucking lie.

* * *

Midge fucking Klump, Gryffindor’s Seeker, had managed to catch the Golden Snitch before Toni. 

And well, Toni had been disappointed, to put it lightly.

Their team had been ahead the entire time. Reggie was a much better Keeper than that Darius dude. And Cheryl, Val, and Joaquin were much faster than Archie, Baby Teeth, and Melody. And Fangs and Sweet Pea? Much better at their job than Chuck and Munroe. 

They were _killing_ it.

And then Midge Klump appeared out of fucking nowhere and intercepted the Snitch, allowing Gryffindor to pull the win from their asses when they hadn’t even scored the entire match.

Final Score: 

150-140

The entire team had rallied around Toni though, praising her for not falling off her broom and for putting in as much effort as she did. Hell, even Professor Clayton came by to praise her performance in the game.

Still, seeing Cherly’s disappointed face cut deep. Toni wanted to be the hero of the match and instead, well. 

Disappointed AF.

* * *

Toni tries her best to talk to Cheryl after the match, but the girl is nowhere to be seen. 

In fact, the girl is nowhere to be seen all weekend long.

Cheryl is clearly upset about the loss and is probably specifically avoiding Toni. Which, you know, _sucks_. Toni wishes the girl would let her apologize for sucking, but again, nowhere to be seen. 

“I see her come in every evening, long past the time you all go to sleep,” the Ghost that hangs out in the Dungeons had told her when she asked.

“Thanks, dude,” Toni had answered with a sigh. She had also heard that the Prefects have their own bathroom, but Toni felt waiting around there for her would probably be some stalker shit.

So. 

Monday.

* * *

Monday morning comes and Toni finally spots Cheryl at the Slytherin table eating breakfast. She’s giving herself a mental pep talk in preparation to go over and talk to her, _You got this Topaz. She’s hot and scary, but you can do this!!!_

But then the mail arrives.

Owls fly in to deliver letters and packages and it’s a pretty fucking cool sight, all things considered.

Toni suddenly has the Mail Time song stuck in her head. 

_Here's the mail, it never fails  
It makes me want to wag my tail  
When it comes I wanna wail, MAIL!!!!!!!!!! _

Anyway.

Tony with a Y comes by and Toni smiles the cheesiest smile ever when she sees the letter from her grandfather. Fuck yeah.

“Oh shit,” Sweet Pea says, catching Toni’s attention. “Blossom got a howler.”

“Again?” Fangs asks. “Damn, girl can’t catch a break.”

“What’s a howler?” Toni asks as she quickly turns to look over to Cheryl.

“Just watch,” Sweet Pea says in anticipation and it’s then that Toni notices that the entire table is waiting with bated breath for the other girl to open it.

And well, it’s a doozy. 

A woman, who Toni can only assume is Cheryl’s mother, goes in on her. Like, the lady goes _ham._ Harshly criticizing her for, apparently, losing their Quidditch match. Which, yikes. Toni gets that some parents are overly-invested in that shit, but it’s not Cheryl’s fault Toni couldn’t deliver. Plus, like, they had been winning the whole time before that.

Toni watches as the howler bursts into flames and Cheryl almost immediately stands and leaves their table. Toni hesitates to follow, because, _fuck_. She must feel like shit and it’s partly Toni’s fault.

“Fucking hell, that woman is ruthless,” Sweet Pea mumbles as he goes back to eating. 

“Does that happen to her a lot?” Toni wonders.

“Ever since her twin brother Jason died,” Fangs answers. “It’s um, pretty well known the Blossom parents played favorites.”

“Shit,” Toni says. “That’s fucked up.”

“It is.”

“How’d he die?”

“No one really knows, which is super weird,” Fangs continues. “They said it was some sort of freak accident.”

“If you ask me, Daddy Blossom probably offed him,” Sweet Peat mumbles, his mouth full. 

Well, shit.

Shit.

* * *

It’s later that night when Toni is tossing and turning in bed that she sits up and accepts it: she can’t hold her pee in any longer.

Getting up to head to the bathroom, she glances around the dormitory and spots Cheryl’s empty bed yet again. She sighs at the sight. Toni had thought that maybe with it being a school night and all that it might change the girl’s current avoidance pattern. No such luck it seems. 

After a quick stop by the bathroom, Toni sees the Ghost dude gesturing her to follow him. Toni shrugs because, _what the hell_ , she might as well. The ghosts at least have had her back, unlike the paintings. 

The Ghost then leads her over to the common room and wouldn’t you know it – there’s Cheryl, sitting by the fireplace. The Ghost walks away – err floats away? He goes away. Whatever. Which leaves Toni debating on how to best approach the other girl. 

It’s all for naught though, as Cheryl’s quiet voice cuts through the silence.

“Can I help you?” she asks without even turning to face Toni.

“Oh, uh. The, um, the Ghost told me you were here.”

“You’re friends with the Bloody Baron?” Cheryl incredulously asks as she turns to face Toni. An eyebrow raised in question.

“I mean, he’s chill,” Toni responds.

It’s clearly not the answer Cheryl was looking for as she turns back toward the fire.

“What I mean is, he knows that I’ve been looking for you.”

“Why?”

“So that I could, you know, apologize.” 

When Cheryl says nothing, Toni assumes this is her cue.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for fucking up the game, you know? I know you guys were counting on me to deliver and I didn’t. I promise I’ll put in the work though, for next time,” she pauses then hoping Cheryl will say something. Anything. Maybe just breathe a little louder.

When yet again nothing happens, Toni sighs and turns to start walking back to her bed.

She only takes a few steps before she’s stopping and turning back toward Cheryl, though.

“For what it’s worth,” Toni begins to quietly say. “That was fucked up. The howler thing.”

The whole situation has, truthfully, been on Toni’s mind all day. She hasn’t been able to get Cheryl’s mother’s voice yelling at her daughter out of her head. Shit was hard to hear and that lady was truly batshit. It’s fucked up. And no one deserves it.

“You didn’t deserve that. No one deserves to be treated like that,” Toni continues. “I mean, I never even had parents growing up and I know parents aren’t supposed to treat their kids like that. Well, I mean, I had my grandpa and he’s awesome, but you get what I’m saying.”

A beat passes.

Cheryl turns around then and the two lock eyes.

If Toni were so bold, she would say Cheryl was...touched by her words. The look in her eyes is one of almost _shock_ at someone treating her with basic human decency.

“You deserve better,” Toni adds. “You might not hear that a lot, but it’s the truth.”  
  
“Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever been told that before,” Cheryl says with a humorless laugh. The pain her voice clear as day to Toni.

“Ever? Like, never ever?”

Cheryl shakes her head.

_Oh,_ Toni thinks. _Guess I’m The Cheryl Blossom Protection Squad now._

“Well, now you have. And it’s the truth. I swear.”

“Why are you being so...nice?” Cheryl asks of her, her confusion also painfully clear to Toni. 

And like, damn. Has this girl never had a single nice thing said to her that she’s so thrown off by it? Because, well, _damn._

“Life’s hard,” Toni answers with a shrug. “Why make it even harder?” 

Cheryl nods pensively at her answer, before she seemingly takes the opportunity to satiate even more of her curiosities.

“Was it hard among muggles? Or is it harder now among wizards?” 

“Well, both had their own... _unique_ set of challenges,” Toni begins to answer. “Back home… School was easy. Like, assignments and shit. It was...surviving everything else that was hard. Here, I’m not worried about getting to the cafeteria too late and going hungry or about the Pretty Poisons trying to beat me up or about Evelyn Evernever trying to make me join the Farm. Here, it’s just...trying to get that damn teacup to turn into a toad and not, you know Toad.”

“What’s the difference?’

“A lot, actually.”

Toni makes a mental note to teach Cheryl how to play Mario Kart. 

“We all have our own struggles – our own challenges,” Toni continues. “And well, if I can help someone with theirs, why not? Why not uplift them even if just a little bit. I think that’s worth doing, you know? ‘Cause it’s what I’d like someone to do for me.”

Cheryl seems to really take Toni’s words in as she softly nods.

“Kind,” Cheryl eventually seems to settle on as her evaluation of Toni. 

Which lowkey makes Toni blush but she plays it off.

“Like I said, I try,” Toni answers, clearing her throat.

“Thank you.”

And well, Toni can hear the sincerity in such a small statement and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t give her heart the warm and fuzzies just a bit.

“For sure.”

The two stay looking at each other for another beat, before Cheryl breaks the silence again.

“Azkaban,” she suddenly says, which sort of throws Toni off guard. “That’s where your father is, right? Azkaban.”

Toni’s not sure where she’s going with it, but might as well, if they’re being vulnerable with each other and shit, you know?

“It is,” Toni answers. “How’d you know that?”

“When the Head of House informs you that a new student will be arriving three weeks into the school year and that that new student also happens to be a Sixth Year with no formal magical education, you get curious. You ask questions, you do your research.” 

“You googled me?” Toni asks with a playful smile.

“What?” Cheryl asks confused. 

Right, technology-deficient.

“It’s a muggle thing,” Toni just shrugs off.

“Right,” Cheryl slowly answers. “Anyway, it’s the reason, if you’re wondering, why I was so short with you on your first day. I just...I wanted to apologize for it. You didn’t deserve it either.”

“And here I thought that was just your personality,” Toni jokes, trying to get Cheryl to –

_There_ it is.

A smile.

Oh yeah.

Cheryl huffs a laugh, which Toni mentally marks down as a point in her Winning Over Cheryl Blossom Column.

“It is, but that day was a bit...more. Which to be fair, was also highly hypocritical seeing as it’s not like my parents are saints. Far from it…” Cheryl trails off then, seemingly lost in thought.

Toni can’t help but wonder where she’s gone, given the haunted look in her eyes right now. Sweet Pea’s speculation about Mr. Blossom being a murderer comes to the forefront of her mind and well, that’s a major _yikes._

“If it makes you feel any better,” Toni starts to say, which brings Cheryl’s attention back to the present, “It didn’t even really faze me.”

A beat passes then before Cheryl’s eyes narrow, which makes Toni feel a little self-conscious. She shuffles in place, before speaking again.

“What–”

“You’re into me,” Cheryl interjects.

Which, _wow._ Was Toni really being that transparent?................Maybe.

“Would that be so bad?” Toni sheepishly questions after a beat, with what she hopes is a charming smile. But it’s like, probably 2 in the morning so it might just look half asleep.

Cheryl doesn’t answer, but instead she finally stands from her place in front of the fireplace and begins to walk over to Toni. She’s wearing a short negligee and Toni’s brain sort of short-circuits into LEGS LEGS LEGS.

And well, can you blame her? She’s only human.

Anyway.

Cheryl continues to slowly approach Toni.

To say Toni is now **[internally screaming]** would be an understatement, seeing as Cheryl’s right in front of her now. Very, very close. Toni swallows then and closes her eyes.

If she were upside down this would be her dream literally coming through. But seeing as she’s right side up, it’s more or less better.

Anyway.

She swears she feels Cheryl’s breath on her lips but then–  
  
“Oh! Pardon! Pardon!”

The two girls spring apart as the Bloody Baron then floats away.

_Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!!!!! Dude–_

Before Toni can react out loud however, Cheryl is already walking back to their bedroom.

“Cheryl–”

“Quidditch practice tomorrow and then tutoring,” is all the other girl responds as she continues walking.

“Uh – what?”

“All suitors have to meet a standard,” Cheryl says with a delicious smirk now on her lips. “And it’s a fairly high one.”

Oh. 

Well damn.

Game on, Blossom. 

Game on.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> thoughts???? let me know over on my [tumblr](https://distractioncake.tumblr.com/) ✨


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